Ice Cream flavor melting points

Broad Question:

How do different ice creams effect their temperature?

Specific Question:

Does the flavor of ice cream effect its melting point?

Hypothesis:

The flavors of ice cream do not effect its melting point.

Graph of Hypothesis

Variables

Independent Variable:Ice cream flavor
Dependent Variable: melting point/temperature

Variables That Need To Be Controlled:

amount of ice cream
temperature probe
container

Vocabulary List That Needs Explanation

Temperature Probe: A device that measures the temperature of a specified environment or object.
Melting Point: The temperature at which a given solid will melt.

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General Plan

I will test eight different flavors of ice cream to see if they melt at different speeds. To do this, I will use temperature probes which will send the temperature of the ice creams to a computer.The ice creams will be left in a freezer for a day with the temperature probes already stuck in them. The ice cream will be taken out the next day and the temperature probes will send the data to a computer every 30 seconds. Then I will see if the flavor of ice cream effects its melting point.

Safety Or Environmental Concerns

Some people may be allergic to ingredient s in different ice creams.

Experimental Design

Number Of Trials:

2 for each ice cream flavor

Number Of Subjects In Each trial:

5 (one of each ice cream flavor)

When data will be collected

Class time

Number of Observations:

Once every 30 seconds

Where will data be collected?:

Classroom

Resources and Budget Table

Item	Where will you get this	Estimated Cost
Poster Board	Staples	$5.00
Ice cream	Hannaford	$2.50 each
Temperature Probes	Mr. Littlefield	$0.00
Little Cups	Wal-mart	$3.00

Data Table

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AixPkrsxpT_fdFE3RHFvR1djTnFzOVI5aU5fbmlUM3c&output=html

Time Line

beginning of March: Planning, wiki
March: perform experiment
April: analyze data, make project, conclusion&results
May: practice presentation

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Background Research

The biggest ice cream sundae weighed over 24 pounds
From the background research I have facts that surround my experiment to fill in any gaps. Perhaps most importantly the melting point of ice. Ice melts at 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius). From this I can estimate about what most ice cream flavors will melt and compare it to ice. This also means water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit. The difference is that ice cream is made of mostly milk. Specifically it takes 12 pounds of milk to make just one gallon of ice cream. The natural/artificial flavoring and treats that are put in the ice cream is what I am really testing to see if it changes the temperature. The milk and flavoring together may be much different than water.
I will test some of the most popular ice cream flavors. It is better to test more popular ice cream flavors because that is what people order more often so this experiment can be more beneficial. Listed below are the 15 most popular ice cream flavors:
(Flavor, percent preferring)
1. Vanilla, 29%
2. Chocolate, 8.9%
3. Butter pecan, 5.3%
4. Strawberry, 5.3%
5. Neapolitan, 4.2%
6. Chocolate chip, 3.9%
7. French vanilla, 3.8%
8. Cookies and cream, 3.6%
9. Vanilla fudge ripple, 2.6%
10. Praline pecan, 1.7%
11. Cherry, 1.6%
12. Chocolate almond, 1.6%
13. Coffee, 1.6%
14. Rocky road, 1.5%
15. Chocolate marshmallow, 1.3%
All others, 23.7%
Ice cream is one of the most popular desserts on earth. Whether you eat it in a cone, fried, or fancily placed on a dish, the average person eats 48 pints (96 cups or 6 gallons!) of ice cream in a year. An average ice cream cone holds about 1/2 a cup of ice cream, meaning that the average person eats about 192 cones of ice cream in a year. It takes about 50 licks to lick away one scoop of ice cream in an ice cream cone, meaning that on average person licks ice cream 9,600 times in a year.
The ice cream cone was invented when a man selling ice cream at a fair ran out of dishes, and the person beside him was selling waffles so he rolled up a waffle to form a cone. Today there are many types of cones, including: waffle cone, cake cone, wafer cone, pretzel cone, sugar cone, chocolate-coated cone, double cone, and kiddie cones. Ice creams, especially in cones are most bought on Sunday. The biggest ice cream Sunday ever made weighed over 24 pounds. Maybe the most adored of all sweets, ice cream, comes in many ways, flavors, and cones.

References

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/education/explore/ice/activities/investigations/nice_temp/
http://www.makeicecream.com/15mospopicec.html
http://www.icecream.com/funfacts/funfacts.asp?b=105

Detailed Procedure

1. Get materials
2. Put each ice cream flavor into 2 separate containers and label them
3. Make sure everything is prepared for data collecting.
4. Freeze ice creams for 1 day
5. Take ice creams out of freezer and place on a flat surface
6. put temperature probes in the ice cream
7. Record data of temperature every 30 secs. until it melts completely
8. Review results

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Results

Ice cream flavor	Average Melting Point (degrees Celsius)	Approximate Time to reach 0 degrees Celsius
Mint Chocolate Chip	9.655768	58
Vanilla	12.12452	74
Strawberry	11.15577	71
Cookie Dough	12.46827	68
Coffee	13.84327	80

Graphs

Photos

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Data Analysis

Mint Chocolate chip- The melting point for mint chocolate chip is about 9.6 degrees Celsius. It reached the ice melting point (0 degrees Celsius) at about 58 minutes.
Vanilla-The melting point for vanilla is about 12.1 degrees Celsius. It reached the ice melting point at about 74 minutes.
Strawberry-The melting point for strawberry is about 11.2 degrees Celsius. It reached the ice melting point at about 71 minutes.
Cookie Dough- The melting point for cookie dough is 12.5 degrees Celsius. It reached the ice melting point at about 68 minutes.
Coffee-The melting point for coffee is 13.8 degrees Celsius. It reached the ice melting point at about 80 minutes.

Conclusion

My hypothesis that the flavor of ice cream does not affect its melting point is correct. Although the melting points are a few degrees off that could be due to the temperature in the room or people breathing more near it, etc. The melting point for each ice cream flavor is between 9-14 degrees Celsius (48-57 degrees Fahrenheit)

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Discussion

After analyzing the graph I noticed that the data on each data line went at about a constant pace. The ice cream slowly got warmer at a steady pace. Every ice cream flavor ended at around 9-14 degrees Celsius. I learned from the experiment and studying the data that ice cream flavors do not change the temperature at which the ice cream melts. There is a strong relationship between the ice cream flavors and its temperature, because it shows that the flavor cannot change how fast it melts. No worrying about which flavor of your ice cream will melt faster, they will melt about the same speed and temperature. I was able to answer my experiment question: Does the flavor of ice cream effect its melting point?. My hypothesis was right, flavors of ice cream don't effect its melting point.
This experiment doesn't exactly benefit the community or help anyone, but in case anyone is ever wondering if there ice cream is going to melt faster than a different flavor, that question is answered. So, for all of those ice cream lovers, don't worry about which ice cream to order because of melting, or which to eat first. I could improve this experiment by testing more ice cream flavors if there are others that do melt faster/slower, that is not likely though. Also, there shouldn't be people around, because the breathing can make the temperature warmer.

Benefit to Community and/or Science

My experiment does not really have a benefit to the community or science. If there was a benefit it would be for ice cream lovers. When a family or a person is ordering ice cream (more than one flavor) you don't need to worry about which ice cream is going to melt first. This may not be considered a true benefit though.

Abstract

My specific question was: does the flavor of ice cream effect its melting point? My hypothesis to this question was that the flavor of ice cream would not effect its melting point. I found in my background research that ice melts at 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0 degrees Celsius). I also found that the top four flavors were vanilla, chocolate, butter pecan, and strawberry. The procedure was to get materials and scoop the ice cream flavors into separate cups, two for each ice cream flavor. Then I froze the ice creams for a day and one by one put the temperature probes into the two cups; data could then be collected. The results proved that my hypothesis was correct. The melting point ranged between 9 and 14 degrees Celsius. Although they may have been a few degrees apart ( which could be due to room temperature, people breathing on it, slight difference in amount of ice cream, etc.) generally the temps. are the same. I did notice a pattern in the graphs, that the temperature got warmer at about a steady pace. The experiment benefited the community because when ordering ice cream, you don't need to worry about which flavor will melt faster/slower. My experiment proved that flavors of ice cream do not change its melting point.